Self-proclaimed “Jersey Shore” “meatball” Deena Nicole Cortese — who was arrested in June for playing in traffic while tipsy — says she feels pressure to be a party animal because of the show. “I drink and have my ‘meatball’ days,” she says of her TV alter ego. “I keep up my meatball ways, even though sometimes I don’t want to. But everybody loves me that way.” She adds: “I was conflicted, confused. I wanted to party, but I was over it.” Cortese, who got off with a slap on the wrist for dancing in the streets of Seaside Heights, told us of the fateful day she was collared by cops: “I was by myself, having drinks, which is not a good look. I went in the street because I was listening to the music of the cars, because we can’t listen to music in the house.” But, she says, the experience set her straight. “I realized, just because I’m on ‘Jersey Shore’ doesn’t mean I can’t get into trouble. I was like, ‘I have to get my [bleep] together.’ I couldn’t make it in jail.” She says the incident stemmed from a breakup: “I was sad. I was depressed. I went out and got arrested.”